


Sans Souci

by lululou



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Architect!Annabeth, Architects, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Swim Team, swimmer!percy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25040611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululou/pseuds/lululou
Summary: Annabeth doesn't know what to do with this stranger in her architecture studio. Percy is just trying to be a good fish dad.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 144





	Sans Souci

It was 11:34PM when Annabeth heard the beep of a student ID letting someone into the architecture studio.  
  
Her final design project was due in a week, and she had been spending every possible second outside of classes to get her vision right. With the pressure of the deadline and her ADHD, she was losing track of time, so her fellow classmates had been popping in occasionally to make sure she was eating and sleeping properly. She expected to see Malcolm or Rachel around the corner for just that type of check-in, when she found herself face-to-face with a total stranger.  
  
“COLUMBIA SWIM” emblazoned in classic school blue on his white shirt, which brought out his gorgeous tan skin. His bright green eyes were wide and his jaw was slightly slack in surprise, with his hands held up slightly in a defensive position. He was attractive, that was impossible to ignore. But that fact wasn’t anywhere near Annabeth’s top priorities at the moment. No grecian god-like looks could soften her as her brows furrowed and her mouth hardened into an unamused line.  
  
“What are you doing here?” she asked sharply.  
  
His mouth opened and closed a couple times, before managing, “uh… I have goldfish?”  
  
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? This is the Barnard architecture lab, you aren’t allowed in unless you’re a Barnard student or a Columbia architect major with special permission, and I would know if you were either! Whose ID did you swipe?!”  
  
“Rachel! Rachel, I asked her for a favor cause I need some things…” He quickly answered. Annabeth didn’t know what to make of that. On one hand, she trusted Rachel and knew she wouldn’t have given away her ID for no reason. But this was still her lab, and she wasn’t warned about an intruder. He took advantage of her pause, asking, “Are you Annabeth? Rachel said I might run into an Annabeth. I’m Percy, it’s nice to meet you.”  
  
She scoffed and crossed her arms. “What are you doing here, Percy? We don’t need any goldfish, I already have plenty of snacks.”  
  
Percy looked confused for a second, then burst out laughing. “No, I meant I have actual goldfish, like the animal. I wanted to borrow some building supplies for a makeshift aquarium.”  
  
Her face obviously didn’t hide her bewilderment over such a weird response, because Percy continued to explain himself.  
  
“You see, I went to a fair, and I won a lot of goldfish because I felt bad for them, and it’s kinda expensive to buy an aquarium or a lot of separate bowls, so asked Rachel about it and she suggested I find supplies here. I mean, I don’t have a lot of dispensable cash and we all pay tuition anyways, so I figured why not try to DIY something, ya know?”  
  
Annabeth certainly didn’t know, but nodded along anyways.  
  
“So I thought, like maybe some acrylic sheets, silicone glue, that kind of stuff… ya know?” It seemed like he ran out of things to list and now looked at her nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to another.  
  
“...Ok… well we have those things, but that isn’t exactly borrowing if you aren’t planning to give it back, is it?”  
  
His face broke into a grin. “That’s true, but you can blame Rachel for approving my stealing.”  
  
And, well, that was the first thing he said that actually fully made sense to Annabeth. She loved Rachel, but they definitely rode on different wavelengths in terms of communication and standards of accessibility. Annabeth’s face softened a bit, but not quite into a smile, as she pointed to two different shelves. “The glass options are there, and the glues are there. There’s also rubber lining over here if that’s something you need.”  
  
“Thanks!” Percy bounded over to the glass collection and Annabeth watched along curiously as he picked up slabs and analysed them in the light. His biceps and shoulder blades rippled underneath his shirt as he picked up a couple large pieces, which Annabeth definitely didn’t have any issues seeing. He had a true swimmer’s build, from the broad shoulders to the tapered waist and tall height, as far as she could tell. He glanced back over at her, then said sheepishly, “Sorry if I interrupted your work. You can go back to whatever you were doing, I can handle myself here.”  
  
Annabeth shrugged and replied, “Sorry, but this studio is like my second home. It feels weird to leave you roaming around unsupervised.”  
  
Percy nodded in understanding, turning back to the shelves before asking, “What were you doing here before I barged in?”  
  
“My final project design.”  
  
“That’s really cool! What is it?”  
  
“A communal living space, idealized for millennials who aren’t ready to buy a house or settle down with a family but want the sturdy assurance of a home and domestic life with friends.”  
  
Architecture in general, but this project that Annabeth had thought about and worked on tirelessly for so long in particular, was something she could go on forever and ever about. Only the people in her small architecture major were actually interested in what she had in mind, which was probably part of why she chose to coop up in the studio all the time. But Percy kept up the conversation as he perused for the right type of glue. He asked about the lighting in the plant room she mentioned. He complimented her creativity with alcoves extending from the living rooms. He even imagined how comfortable he would be in the bedroom she described, with the awe and enthusiasm that every architect wants from a client. Without even realizing, Annabeth found herself smiling and gesturing and rambling with Percy with unbelievable ease.  
  
As Percy moved to touch some rubber linings, Annabeth decided to get some answers to his situation here. “So, how’d you even get these fish? Were you down at the Coney Island fair?”  
  
“Oh, no, actually, my mom and I have this tradition where we go out to Montauk when it gets warm enough. I get some off-season practice in the ocean–oh, I’m on the swim team, by the way” –gesturing to his obvious shirt– “and there’s always spring fairs in the suburbs. I feel really bad for the fish, which is probably why I’m an environmental science major, but goldfish actually can’t be let out into the sea because they’re invasive and they’ll wreck the ecosystem, so ya know, gotta do my part.”  
  
Annabeth now laughed along with his ramblings and found herself genuinely interested in the lives of fishes, despite never giving them a second thought beyond aquarium decorations. She was shocked to learn goldfish were actually supposed to live longer than just a few days, and even apologized for the goldfish she killed in the third grade. It was well past midnight when Percy finally gathered all his supplies, and Annabeth went to fetch him a bag to carry it back to his dorm room.  
  
“Thanks!” he smiled at her as he started to load everything in. She leaned against the wall watching him and wondering if she could get back to work after such a long distraction. As he picked up his things, Annabeth teased, “Don’t ruin any of those supplies! I don’t know if I could let it slide if you stole from us twice.”  
  
Percy laughed a little nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yea, well, thanks again Annabeth. If I, uh, run into any problems putting this together… could I have your number for help?”  
  
Annabeth wasn’t sure how red she was as she punched her number into his cell phone. It didn’t matter, though, because Percy was redder and he didn’t seem to care. He was beaming so brightly it almost made Annabeth smile back. They said their goodnights and Annabeth watched as Percy walked out of the studio. She started back to her worktable, sitting and paced and sitting again. She heard a whoop outside and looked out the window to notice Percy outside the building doing a little jig. She giggled in the empty studio, and said to no one but herself, “What a weirdo.”  
  
Her phone buzzed and she saw two unread messages.  
  
_Anything interesting happen tn you wanna talk ab?_ From Rachel  
  
_This is Percy I promise I’m not a dumbass it didn’t take me THAT long to find the right glue. It was really nice talking to you :)_ From a new number  
  
Well. She definitely wasn’t getting any more work done tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate any feedback, comments, or constructive criticisms!  
> P.S. Barnard and Columbia are sister colleges in NYC. Their academics and social spheres are largely united, although they are separate institutions. I always imagined Annabeth in the city with Percy, and it turns out only Barnard has an architecture program that Columbia “borrows”! This is a two-way street; only Columbia has an engineering program that Barnard “borrows” as well.


End file.
